Celebrity Yogis Make Headlines

It’s not news that many celebrities have embraced yoga—some are so enthusiastic about the practice they seem to make more headlines about yoga than for the careers that launched them to celebrity status.

In the last week, there’s been so much celebrity yoga news it was hard to keep up. Here are a few of the highlights:

A cocktail-attire benefit for Bent on Learning, a nonprofit organization that offers yoga in public schools, attracted celebrities in spades. Gwyneth Paltrow, Donna Karan (who credits the start of her $400 million fashion house with her desire to wear outfits that she could “sleep in, do yoga in, and go out in”) , and Deepak Chopra all showed up to support the organization. Elena Brower gave the introduction, Fred DiVito guided the room in an “opening breath,” and Eddie Stern accepted an award for “inspirational activism,” according to the New York Times. The fundraiser, which organizers called the “Inspire Gala,” raised $302,000, a spokesperson for Bent on Learning told Buzz.

In other news, Russell Brand staged a walkout during a yoga class at Golden Bridge in Los Angeles because the studio alledgedly wouldn’t let his favorite teacher break her contract, according to a report by RadarOnline.com. Even Demi Moore, who also practices at the studio, participated in the protest. Brand then invited those who walked out over to his home to practice yoga, he told The Sun. “It’s not your normal yoga. It’s like proper chanting, full-on stuff — not for the faint-hearted.

“I like the yoga thing,” he continued. “It’s the dawning of a wonderful new era. It’s proving to be an interesting new phase for me — yoga, transcendental consciousness, meditation, good-looking people. It’s the dawning of a new Sixties.”

Meanwhile, Hilaria Baldwin, the New York yoga teacher who married 30 Rock star Alec Baldwin last July is rumored to be pregnant. The couple hasn’t confirmed or denied the rumors. “Our response to baby speculation over the past 18 months has remained the same…when/if Alec&Hilaria have news they want 2 share, they will share it. Until then, no comment,” Hitzik Strategies, which reps the couple, tweeted.